Lateinische Ausgangsschrift (LA), or Latin starting script, was introduced in Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD), or West Germany, in 1953 by a decree of the Kultusministerkonferenz, or the Conference of Ministers of Education. Bavaria adopted it in 1966. It was designed by Iserlohner Schreibkreis, or the Iserlohn Writing Circle, a group of handwriting experts from across Germany.
It is based on Deutsche Normalschrift, and responds to the criticism it faced through some minor changes. While still decorative, the uppercase letters are simplified in Lateinische Ausgangsschrift compared to its predecessor, and the style features fewer knots. In particular, the uppercase S has been modified to be more similar to the L, and the upper and lowercase x have loops. Lowercase letters are fully joined with ascender and descender loops, except in letters p and q. Notably, the uppercase letters always join with lowercase ones.
